A few years ago, the New York Times bought Wordle, a simple but devilishly clever word game from software engineer Josh Wardle.
Since then, the game’s become a household object, with fans—or addicts, depending on who you ask—logging in each day to test their skill and luck.
Now, skiers have something of an equivalent. Based more on the geography-focused Wordle spin-off Worldle, Resortle uses ski area maps rather than words or locations (try saying that ten times fast).
The game, which recently surfaced on Reddit, shows three maps each day scrubbed of some identifying features. Then, you get a few opportunities to guess where in the world a given resort is. Incorrect guesses provide a clue, showing how close you were and which cardinal direction the right resort is in.
Resortle
It’s the kind of game that rewards an encyclopedic knowledge of ski areas. On Friday, one of the options completely stumped me, and I had to retreat to Google for hints. And even using a search engine, I still had a few incorrect guesses. Better luck next time, maybe?
You can give it a shot yourself by following this link—but you may want to brush up on your trail map knowledge first.
Resortle arrives amid what’s been a busy few months for the independent ski game circuit.
A few weeks ago, we chatted with the creator of Jibbers, a challenging but satisfying freestyle skiing simulator. Ice Coast Revival zooms out, offering skiers the chance to manage and salvage once-foreclosed resorts. Then, there’s Nordic, a cozy game that, as its name implies, beautifully captures the experience of cross-country skiing with lo-fi aesthetics. Each covers a different base and a way to kill some time before the snow starts flying again.
Beyond those options, some more freestyle-focused games are in the works, like B-Dog Bark n’ Butter and JIB. In short, despite the dearth of major studio ski games—the last, to our knowledge, was Riders Republic, which came out in 2021—the indie scene seems to be alive and well.
Related: Ski Portillo Begs Public To Stop Snow Dances: “We Want To Ski!”
